Chapter 44: Fighting for Favor and Living a Life Thousands of Years Ago
Shen Jiang would go to the other world every night, but for the natives of the other world, her half a month had already been a full year, and it was the early summer of the following year.
As the seasons changed, Ellis and his family and lover gradually adapted to life on Longshan Mountain and fell in love with it.
The Witch Mistress had only visited a handful of times, but each time she came, she brought them exceptionally generous gifts. Though she called them rewards for her work, they all knew there was no one more generous than the Witch Mistress. Therefore, they decided to make each of her advents their most important festival of the month.
And today is the day when the witch arrives.
Beatrice had been waiting at the door long in anticipation. The last time the witch came, she had said that she liked the cakes she baked, so Beatrice got up early this morning to get busy. She had calculated the time so that by the time the witch arrived, her cakes would have been baked as well.
She's fourteen now. Since last fall, she's been growing like a rocket. Not only has she grown a dozen centimeters taller, but her curves are also gradually becoming more pronounced. She's shed her youthful innocence, and her eyes are filled with a newfound determination.
Beatrice didn't like these changes in her body, because ever since she was taller than the witch, she rarely touched her hair anymore.
Cecilia walked past her little daughter in the morning dew, carrying a basket of eggs she had just taken from the chicken coop.
"Beadori, it's still quite a while before the Witch arrives. Aren't you coming too early?"
Beatrice took one look at the strikingly dressed Catherine and thought she looked like a poisonous mushroom. Her glittering golden dress was so extravagant and gorgeous that it looked nothing like her usual self.
She recalled last month, when the Mistress Witch had come and seen Catherine, all dressed up, and had repeatedly exclaimed how beautiful she was, praising her as a rose in full bloom. Beatrice calmly greeted Catherine, "Who said I was here to wait for the Mistress Witch? I just came outside to get some fresh air."
Then she turned around silently and went to her room to change into a new dress.
As the early morning sun illuminated the three cabins on Dragon Mountain, Shen Jiang emerged into a different world. Catherine's single cabin was already built, and beside her was a simple cabin. This was Shen Jiang's storage for medicinal herbs. Due to the overwhelming quantity of herbs at the time, she instructed Ellis to build a simple cabin to serve as a warehouse.
The temperature on Longshan Mountain was relatively low, but there was plenty of sunshine every day. Beatrice and the others would dry the herbs they had picked and then store them in the warehouse, waiting for Shen Jiang to take them away in batches at his own discretion.
In this way, the herbs Shen Jiang took away each time were basically herbs that had been stored for a while and were not so fresh, so they would not attract the attention of his uncle and others.
I have to say, it felt great to have two beautiful young ladies dressed in gorgeous clothes to greet him. Shen Jiang even felt like he was returning to another home.
"My Lady Witch, I baked some fresh cakes. Would you like to try some?" Beatrice, wearing a stand-up collared cherry blossom pink retro dress, took the lead.
The dress she was wearing was designed in Edwardian England. It was wide at the top, tight in the middle, and fluffy at the bottom. It had a stand-up collar, and was made of pink linen with lace hemming. It was elegant yet simple. It was specially chosen for her by Shen Jiang, and it matched Beatrice's increasingly demure temperament.
"My dear witch, I've prepared your favorite black tea." Catherine, unwilling to be outdone, stepped forward and affectionately took Shen Jiang's arm. She was wearing a vintage dress from a fashion brand that Shen Jiang had chosen for her. The moon-white gauze was covered in intricate golden embroidery.
Shen Jiang suddenly felt a headache. If she agreed to this, the other one would reveal a very lonely look. Fortunately, the food they made was completely different. "How about this, you bring the cake and black tea outside, and we can eat while basking in the sun."
Ellis had obviously anticipated this situation and had been standing not far away watching the show. Shen Jiang glared at him and ordered him not to show that angelic-looking but actually sinister smile again!
"Come and help me get my things."
Shen Jiang always brings big and small bags when he comes, but this time they are all wages for work chosen by the indigenous people themselves.
After a year of working together, everyone had developed a tacit understanding. Initially, Shen Jiang calculated their workload and decided to pay them in the form of necessities. After all, money was useless here, and it was so far from home that it would be difficult to survive without Shen Jiang's regular deliveries. Even though Ellis and the others initially refused, they eventually realized the witch was right.
Many of the items in the cabin were brought by Shen Jiang, from winter clothes and quilts to drinking cups. Now, with their material well-being, the indigenous people were no longer satisfied with the most basic necessities and began to pursue the life that the witch had talked about.
Catherine particularly liked exquisite tea sets and various tea bags, and she happily exchanged her work wages for many sets of tea sets. But except when Shen Jiang was around, she usually only used the ordinary tea set she exchanged for at the beginning.
Today, Catherine brought out a set of vintage, elegant English bone china for the witch. The pattern featured a circle of blue-purple irises, delicately depicted against a clear, bright lavender background. It felt like stepping into a secret garden shrouded in morning mist. Catherine fell in love with it the first time she received it.
Cecilia praised: "If this tea set is placed in the most popular store in the First Empire, it will definitely be a hot item in the window display."
This was not the first time she mentioned the First Empire. It was obvious that she was full of nostalgia for her hometown. After all, Shen Jiang rarely heard her mention the Misty Forest.
Shen Jiang thought it was just an ordinary set of porcelain from Jingdezhen. Jingdezhen's firing process had been refined through generations, and hundreds of sets of porcelain like this could be made, and the price of a set was not expensive. But she was worried about it breaking, so she carefully wrapped it in many layers, which made it more troublesome to transport.
Ellis quietly put the things brought by the witch into the cabin, intending to unpack them after she left. In the past, whenever they expressed surprise or admiration, Lord Godwin on the mountain would come over after hearing the sound, and his face always looked very unhappy.
But as long as the witch took out a handful of candies prepared for it, the huge black dragon would always raise its head proudly.
Ellis thought, since Lord Godwin didn't work for the Witch, he certainly wasn't getting paid. After all, he was just the Witch's pet, and they were her most capable subordinates. There was no other way, so to accommodate the Witch's pet's feelings, they chose to secretly split their rewards in the room.
Shen Jiang and the others walked to a flat, expansive meadow, where Ellis had specially crafted a wooden table and chairs, offering a breathtaking view of Mount Long. Besides the sweet, delicious cakes and rich, aromatic black tea, Cecilia served a new recipe she'd learned from the picture book: tomato and egg soup with hard bread.
Godwin had heard the believers' movements long ago.
That's right, now he regards Shen Jiangmo as his only believer, and those humans and orcs are his servants, who are responsible for clearing the weeds on the mountain for him.
As usual, Godwin rolled over his overflowing pile of gems, which fell down with a tinkling sound, mixing with the candy wrappers at the bottom. It was a very pleasing sight. Godwin stretched himself and stood up, ready to take his tribute.
The candies offered by the believers tasted good every time, but they were too small. There was no other way, so Godwin could only transform into a human form and savor the sweetness carefully.
In his dragon form, Godwin Caesar was a fiery dragon with black scales, possessing a powerful visual impact and appearing ferocious. In his human form, however, he was a dark-haired youth with golden eyes, a lazy and noble presence, yet lacking a certain domineering aura and possessing a certain beauty.
Godwin did not like to appear in human form, because in his opinion, his human appearance lacked some of his favorite domineering aura, and it did not look imposing enough no matter how he looked at it.
The dragon form suits him best.
So domineering.
*
Shen Jiang was not surprised to see Godwin coming. Beatrice was as calm as her. She looked at Godwin with a very indifferent look, which was filled with other complicated emotions.
Among them, she was the one whose appearance had changed the most in this year.
But even her adult brother and Catherine had subtle changes in their faces and bodies. She had observed the Witch Master carefully, and her face seemed unaffected by time. She looked exactly the same as she had a year ago, with no discernible change. This made Beato wonder if the Witch Master possessed the secret to longevity, unaffected by time.
Beatrice knew that a dragon's lifespan was far longer than that of an ordinary human. She had once thought she could replace the Black Dragon and become the Witch's favorite subordinate, but with this new discovery, she knew she would never be able to surpass Lord Godwin's position in the Witch's heart.
The black dragon will accompany the witch for a long, long time, and their bond will become deeper and deeper. By then, she will have long been lost in the long river of time and forgotten.
Godwin had no idea what was going on in the minds of these submissive guys in front of him, especially one of the orc girls who was still planning how to get past him and get to the top.
Godwin glanced at the ugly food on the table without any interest. He arrogantly stretched out his claws to Shen Jiang, asking her for the tribute this time - beautiful candies.
Every time the believers come, they bring him two bags of candy. He ate four of the last two bags every day, and he had just finished them today.
This time was different from the past. In addition to placing two bags of candy on the dragon's black triangular claws, Shen Jiang also placed a large box with exquisite packaging.
Shen Jiang said with a smile: "Respected Lord Godwin, this is a gift I specially prepared for you."
The eyes of the people present were instantly glued to the black gift box tied with a green satin bow in the black dragon's triangular claws.
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